To the inventors' knowledge, there exists no commercially-available foot-actuated toilet seat lifting mechanism which avoids sanitary problems associated with raising or lowering of a toilet seat. To be practical, such a device would have to be unobtrusive, easy to install, and should require no significant modification of the toilet itself or any adjoining floor or wall structure. Also, it should not result in slamming of the toilet seat against the reservoir or bowl associated with the toilet either upon operation of an associated foot pedal or accidental release of the foot pedal. It is accordingly an object of the invention in preferred form to provide such a lifting mechanism.